"The Treasury of Tabriz is a massive manuscript from 14th century Persia. It is almost perfectly preserved, and contains 209 works on a wide range of subjects, in Persian and Arabic. It is indeed a whole treasure-house, compressed between two Covers. It was bought by Islamic Consultative Assembly in Tehran in 1995, and has been published in facsimile by Tehran University Press." "The city of Tabriz was one of the main cultural centers of the Persian speaking world in the 14th century. Scholarly and cultural activities included manuscript production, illumination, miniature paintings, architecture, astronomy, philosophy, mysticism, music and literature. The manuscript contains important works selected by an educated gentleman of Tabriz, and copied in his own hand, between 1321 and 1323 AD. Together, the texts in the compendium show us the canon of learning for a man of letters in the Islamic world, covering prophetic traditions, ethics, mysticism, jurisprudence, theology, exegesis, history, grammar, literature and literary criticism, philosophy, astronomy and astrology, geomancy, mineralogy, mathematics, medicine, music, cosmography and geography.

The essays collected in this volume introduce diverse aspects of this compendium for the first time, giving us a window into this world, and in some cases the best available texts of important works of Islamic culture and learning."--BOOK JACKET.